US ambassador to Canada riles northern neighbors with comments at Bellevue WA event

Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, faced blowback from British Columbia Premier David Eby for comments he made earlier this week.

At the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) annual summit in Bellevue, Hoekstra spoke Monday about the future of the U.S.-Canada relationship. Much of the talk touted the importance of strong cross-border relations, but Hoekstra's comments on reigniting travel for the 2026 World Cup stirred controversy.

"Canadians staying home, that's their business. I don't like it, but if that's what they want to do, that's fine," Hoekstra said. "They want to ban American alcohol, that's fine. It doesn't necessarily send real positive signals in terms of they're treating us well. There are reasons why the president and some of his team refer to Canada as being mean and nasty to deal with, because of some of those steps. But that's Canadian business, not mine."

The U.S.-Canada relationship has been strained in recent months amid tensions over newly imposed tariffs and talk from President Donald Trump about making Canada the "51st state." Canadian and American officials have also been working to complete a trade agreement ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline that would see American tariffs on Canadian goods jump from 25% to 35%.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/07/25/pete-hoekstra-pnwer-canada-david-eby-tariffs.html

Sounds like another unqualified Trumper.